Midwest Central Railroad


The Midwest Central Railroad is a narrow gauge heritage railroad operating within the confines of Mt. Pleasant, Iowa's McMillan Park, site of the Midwest Old Thresher's Reunion.
The railroad is a registered, 501 non-profit organization. The mainline track is a 1 mile loop with traffic moving in a clockwise direction regulated by an electrically signaled block system. The mainline loop features 2 stations: at the north end, the original Hillsboro, Iowa, depot along with a Milwaukee Road signal tower; and at the south end, a newer wood frame/metal sided building.

Locomotives

The Midwest Central has six steam locomotives: two are operational, three are awaiting in-depth boiler inspections, and one has a new boiler and awaits complete reassembly.
There are two Plymouth diesel locomotives that came from . The Plymouth's were originally gauge and were regauged to narrow gauge after arrival in Mt. Pleasant. No. D14 is used on a regular basis while No. D9 is undergoing restoration. Frederick Snare No. 2 s a small Vulcan Iron Works gasoline switcher. A Ford Model A fireman truck and a Ford Model T foreman truck complete the power roster.

Railroad cars

The Midwest Central's passenger cars were constructed at the Midwest Central shops using Southern Pacific flat cars, East Broadtop Railroad coal hopper cars, or were custom built on a Midwest Central fabricated chassis. There are 3 cabooses: one is all-metal from the White Pass and Yukon Railroad, the second is the last surviving Bellevue and Cascade narrow gauge caboose numbered 055 and the third is wood construction on a SP flatcar frame by scaling up an HO model Florence and Cripple Creek caboose to full size. The Midwest Central has two D&RGW boxcars, one D&RGW gondola, and numerous D&RGW and WPYRR flat cars. The flat cars range from fully restored to extremely rough. Many years ago several East Broad Top coal hoppers were purchased and transported to Mt. Pleasant with the thoughts of using the brake gear, draft gear, steel frame and trucks as the starting point for creating additional passenger cars.

Events

There are three primary operating events throughout the year: the "Old Threshers Reunion," held on the 5 days ending on Labor Day; "Midwest Haunted Rails," held on the last 3 Friday/Saturday pairs in October along with the "Great Pumpkin Train" held on the MHR Saturdays; and "North Pole Express," held on the 3 Saturday/Sunday pairs starting Thanksgiving weekend. The railroad is also available for hire for special occasions. During the off-season, equipment can be seen moving about as needed for repairs between the South Station, Old Threhser's Museum "B," and the main shop.